Author of "What Is Enlightenment? Kant vs. Foucault" said: "Enlightenment is the beating heart of western culture. And we have been subject to the western culture since the Safavid Era and are left with piles of misunderstandings about ourselves and the west due to critical discrepancy between intellectual indicators of the enlightenment and basics of our religion and traditions as well as lack of proper knowledge of the nature of western culture.

IBNA: "The Enlightenment Movement and its significant role in building the western and world culture is a matter of fact today. In fact, enlightenment is one of the most important issues of modern period that has always had for and against holds. Within this period in the 18th century, almost all modern concepts like humanism, secularism, human sciences and liberalism that make the pillars of enlightenment were established by thinkers," said Malek Shojai Joshaqani. 

"All intellectual transformations following the 18th century were reactions to this movement and thinkers had to take sides with either the advocates or the opponents of this historical trend," he added. 

He continued: "Yet it was Kant who established theoretical enlightenment by writing lengthy political essays on the subject and reached modernity to the state of self-consciousness. This kicked off with his essay 'What is Enlightening?' as the first philosophical work ever to question its own time. The idealist self-consciousness began in Germany with Hegel and was carried on with the theories of Marx, Nietzsche, the Frankfurt School and then the Postmodern Thought." 

According to Shojai Joshaqani, one of the most outstanding points of Foucault's thought was his empathic reading of Kant's essay of 'What is Enlightenment?' Michel Foucault is a radical critic of modernity and enlightenment; however, he showed empathy towards Kant's enlightenment in later years of his life that came as a surprise to his interpreters. Whether Foucault's reading of Kant's Enlightenment essay implies a fundamental change in his mentality, or it has other implications is a critical question addressed in three chapters of Joshaqani's book. 

Joshaqani asserted: "The first chapter deals with the historical background and intellectual indicators of Enlightenment. The second chapter elaborates on diverse forms of European enlightenment (English, French and German) and the role Kant plays in the arena of enlightenment. The third chapter is given to Foucault's reading of Kant's enlightenment where Foucault's methodology and approach to Kantian enlightenment are explained." 

Finally referring to the references used for the compilation of the book, Joshaqani mentioned articles by Habermas, Dreyfus and Robineu as classical readings of Foucault and Kant. 

"What is Enlightenment? Kant vs. Foucault" is penned by Malek Shojai Joshaqani and will be marketed by Kavir Publications.

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